BROMUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



BUDDLEIA. 



369 



B. CONGESTA has the stems long and 

 wiry, the flowers in a dense umbel ; 

 purplish-blue in colour, and very lasting. 

 B. alba is a pretty white-flowered variety. 

 B. capitata much resembles this kind. 



B. GRANDIFLORA. This is an old and 

 pretty plant, about 5 inches high, with 

 deep purplish-blue flowers in a loose umbel 

 in July. At the time of flowering the 

 foliage is often withered, and to hide the 

 nakedness of the stems it is sometimes best 

 planted among other low-growing plants. 



B. HOWELLI. This pretty species has 

 flowers in a fine umbel, bell-shaped and 

 milky white. A beautiful variety of it 

 (lilacina) has delicate bluish flowers, 

 retaining its fine deep green foliage at the 

 time of flowering, and throwing up sturdy 

 stems about 2 feet high, crowned by large 

 flat umbels of well-shaped flowers. 



B. LAX A is a very old garden plant, of 

 which there are several varieties, not only 

 varying in colour, but in the size of the 

 flowers and the umbels. 



B. MINOR, probably a variety of the 

 foregoing, is very pretty ; the scape is not 

 more than an "inch high, about fifteen 

 flowers in the umbel ; the colour purplish- 

 blue, with a lighter centre. 



B. PEDUNCULARIS is a pretty, white- 

 flowered species, with large umbel of 

 porcelain- white blossoms. 



These bulbs may be planted from 

 October until December, and in mild 

 localities will pass the winter in the open 

 unprotected. In Holland, where the 

 winters are often very severe, they are 

 covered with reeds or straw at the 

 approach of the cold season. This cover- 

 ing will keep the cold off, the soil open, 

 and ward off the effects of a treacherous 

 winter sun. 



BROMUS (Brome Grass). At least 

 one of this large genus of grasses is 

 very graceful and worthy of culture 

 that is B. brizceformis, a hardy biennial 

 about 2 feet high, with large, graceful, 

 and drooping heads. It is more valu- 

 able for cutting and drying than any 

 of the Quaking Grasses. It may be 

 grown as an annual sown out of doors 

 in spring, and autumnal-sown plants 

 would be best in warm soils. 



BROUSSONETIA PAPYRIFERA 



(Paper Mulberry). A small summer- 

 leafing tree allied to the Mulberry, 

 and somewhat similar in its broadly- 

 rounded head and the large and softly 

 hairy leaves. The shape of the leaf 

 is, however, most variable even upon 

 the same tree, some being entire and 

 others deeply lobed, while there are 

 varieties with leaves crisped, varie- 

 gated, and variously cut. The catkin- 

 like flowers are dull red, and with a 

 scent of Cowslips, coming in May 



either as short spikes or rounded 

 fleshy balls, according as they are 

 male or female, while the fruits consist 

 of small fleshy nutlets. Though hardy 

 in the south of Britain, where it makes 

 a shapely lawri tree, in the north it 

 needs shelter, and is safest against a 

 wall. China. 



BROWALLIA. Annual plants of 

 the Nightshade order, chiefly Peruvian. 

 B. elata has usually been regarded only 

 as a beautiful pot-plant, but it does 

 well in the open air, either in a bed by 

 itself or in large patches with other 

 things. It supplies a shade of colour 

 difficult to obtain, and is useful to cut 

 from. Sow the seeds in March, prick 

 off the young plants when large enough 

 to handle, grow them on till they are 

 strong, and plant out in May. There 

 is a white variety equally useful. B. 

 Roezli is a dense compact bush, 16 to 

 20 inches high, with shining green 

 leaves. The flowers are of a delicate 

 azure blue, or are white with a yellow 

 tube, and are unusually large for the 

 genus. They come in uninterrupted 

 succession from spring till autumn. 

 Rocky Mountains. 



BRUCKENTHALIA SPICULIFO- 

 LIA. A pretty little Heath-like plant 

 with pale purple flowers under i foot 

 high. It is a plant for the rock garden 

 in free peaty soils. S.E. Europe. 



Brugmansia. See DATURA. 



BRYANTHUS. A rare and inter- 

 esting group of northern and Arctic 

 Heath-like plants, few of which are in 

 cultivation. B. erectus is a dwarf 

 evergreen Ericaceous bush, from 8 

 inches to I foot high, bearing pretty 

 pinkish flowers. Said to be a hybrid. 

 In fine peat it grows well, and is best 

 on the rock garden or among dwarf 

 alpine shrubs. Among the known 

 kinds are Breweri, glanduliflorus, 

 gmelini, all peat and rock garden plants. 

 Sometimes our own native Menziesia 

 ccerula is included under this name. 



BUDDLEIA (Orange Ball Tree).B. 

 globosa is a favourite shrub from Chili, 

 often seen in the southern coast gar- 

 dens, where it is hardier, and in 

 Ireland ; the flowers, balls of bright 

 yellow, are showy in early summer. 

 It is of rapid growth, and if badly cut 

 down during a severe winter generally 

 grows again in the following summer. 

 B. Colvillei is a tender Himalayan kind, 

 with bunches of pale rose-coloured 

 flowers. It is a shrub for mild districts 

 only. Other species less satisfactory 



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